Vlora International Airport will be completed in December 2024 and is expected to start operations in March or April 2025, after obtaining the European certification.
The infrastructure will be developed on an area of 309 hectares, with a main runway 3.2 km long and 60 metres wide and another parallel runway, used for air traffic control.
The whole airport will be covered with solar panels capable of producing 5.2 MWH of renewable energy. This will help significantly reduce operating costs and airport taxes.
The passenger terminal will have a surface area of 20,000 square meters and will be able to accommodate up to three million people per year. It is expected that in the first year of operation it will carry around one million passengers, approximately three times the amount estimated in the feasibility study.
With an investment of 104 million euros, Vlora International Airport will be the largest in the region not only in terms of passenger numbers and cargo volumes, but also in terms of aircraft maintenance industry. It will also host the Albanian Civil Aviation Pilots Academy.
The airport will fall into category 4E, one of the highest in the Balkans, which will also allow for transatlantic flights, with direct connections to the United States and Canada.
According to experts, the new airport will help boost Vlora’s economy by more than 11% annually, contributing approximately 0.4% to the national economy. The project foresees the construction of new hotels along the road connecting the airport to Vlora and the establishment of a free economic zone with tax exemption for companies during the first 5-8 years of operation.
The opening of Vlora airport should also have positive effects on tourism in southern Albania, particularly in the area of Saranda and Ksamil, helping to gradually align prices with those of other areas of the country.
Furthermore, an increase in real estate sales is expected along the entire coast from Vlora – where there is already a strong increase in property purchases by both foreigners and Albanian emigrants – to Saranda and Ksamil.
